2012-2013 college basketball preseason top 25 (PART 2)

Here are teams 16-25 in my 2012-2013 preseason college basketball Top 25 and other teams who just missed the cut.

16. MICHIGAN WOLVERINES
The Wolverines lose their two invaluable, hard-working leaders in Zach Novak and Stu Douglas as well as three players who decided to transfer. However, if Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. are together in the backcourt next season, Michigan should be a Big Ten Title contender. Jon Beilein will have more size inside with Jordan Morgan, highly-touted freshman Mitch McGary, and the return of Jon Horford who missed most of last season with a foot injury.

17. BAYLOR BEARS
Baylor’s level of expectations for next season will depend on whether or not Quincy Miller comes back for his sophomore season. If Miller returns, the Bears will be a preseason Top 25 team. They will lose Perry Jones and Quincy Acy inside but welcome in McDonald’s All-American Isaiah Austin, talented freshman Ricardo Gathers, and J’mison Morgan who redshirted this past season. The backcourt will look the same led by the ultra-speedy and fearless Pierre Jackson.

18. NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH
Mike Brey deserves a ton of credit for what he did with the Irish last season after losing Tim Abromaitis early in the season. Notre Dame is still awaiting word on whether Abromaitis and Scott Martin will be granted medical hardships and allowed to play next year. Even if just one of them does return, Notre Dame will bring back most of their core from last year. With their painfully boring burn offense and Brey on the sidelines, I’d be foolish not to include the Irish in my Top 25.

19. MEMPHIS TIGERS
Will Barton has announced his intentions to enter the NBA Draft, but Josh Pastner still returns a lot of talent to fit his aggressive style of play. Joe Jackson, Chris Crawford, and Antonio Barton return in the backcourt while talented sophomore Adonis Thomas who missed a chunk of time this past season due to injury, will step into Will Barton’s role. Everybody returns in the frontcourt which will also feature McDonald’s All-American Shaq Goodwin.

20. MARQUETTE GOLDEN EAGLES
The Golden Eagles have huge shoes to fill in losing one of the best one-two punches in college basketball with Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom. You know Buzz Williams will have his team playing as hard as any other in the country. Getting big man Chris Otule back from injury will give MU a potent inside combo with Davante Gardner. Jamil Wilson will need to emerge as consistently reliable scorer. Junior Cadougan, Vander Blue, and Todd Mayo bring experience to the backcourt but not a ton of scoring ability. That’s where JUCO tranfer and former Oklahoma Sooner T.J. Taylor needs to make his biggest impact.

21. UNLV REBELS
Even though the Rebels lose four of their nine rotation players, UNLV will still be a Top 25 team and contender for the Mountain West crown. Mike Moser deciding to return for his junior season plays a huge part in that as does the addition of transfers Bryce Jones from USC and Pitt’s Khem Birch who won’t become eligible until after the first semester. Incoming freshman Katin Reinhardt is also a big time scorer who will add to a talented backcourt led by Anthony Marshall.

22. GONZAGA BULLDOGS
Another year, another loaded team for Mark Few and the Zags. Four starters return and Sam Dower should be able to fill in for Robert Sacre at center. Gonzaga also gets Kelly Olynyk back after he redshirted last season and still have the versatile Elias Harris in the frontcourt. Expect the freshmen backcourt of Kevin Pangos and Gary Bell Jr. to be even better next season and the Zags to take back the WCC crown.

23. CREIGHTON BLUEJAYS
Coming off their 29-win season, everybody will be back for the Blue Jays except starting point guard Antoine Young. Still, the will be plenty of pieces surrounding Doug McDermott who became one of the best scorers in the country as a sophomore. With Wichita State losing a ton of seniors, Creighton should be the team to beat in the Missouri Valley.

24. TEXAS LONGHORNS
Rick Barnes did perhaps his best coaching job this past season by leading an incredibly young Longhorn team to the NCAA Tournament. Myck Kabongo has already decided to return to the school, but J’Covan Brown is leaving for the NBA Draft. Even without Brown, Texas should take a step forward next season due to the experience they gained this past year but will still have a roster compiling of only underclassmen. The Horns should also be a more physical team inside with incoming freshman Cameron Ridley who is considered one of the best center prospects in the 2012 class.

25. MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS
When you consider how well the Gophers played late in the season, making a run to the NIT title game without Ralph Sampson or Trevor Mbakwe; there is reason to be optimistic heading into next year. Sampson is the only player Minnesota loses and Mbakwe was granted an additional year due to his season-ending injury this past season. The young Gophers backcourt has shown steady growth and should be even better as a collective whole. Add Rodney Williams to the mix and Minnesota is Top-25 worthy.

David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft on the web.